Connect With Your Local Bankruptcy Attorney Today!

Trusted By Thousands of Customers Since 2012!

Experienced Bankruptcy Attorney

Bankruptcy is a judicial process that allows individuals to submit a voluntary petition to the courts for relief from debt. This step is taken when the individual has reached a point where they can no longer easily handle their debt load, and needs a way out. Filing for insolvency is a legal tool that is accessible to anyone regardless of their income level. At it's most basic level, it is a business decision where you treat creditors as impersonally as they treated you. Bankruptcy is also a somewhat complicated process that isn't all that straightforward, and requires the assistance of an experienced bankruptcy attorney.

There are two types of bankruptcy that are mostly used by consumers -- Chapters 7 and 13. Each require that the petitioner pay back their debt in one way or another, but each have different ways of accomplishing this. A Chapter 7 consists of liquidating assets that have value in order to repay debts, and Chapter 13 creates a payment plan that lasts up to 60 months. Getting into either chapter requires you to fill out a form known as the means test. An experienced bankruptcy attorney assists you with completing the a test and helps you fill it out correctly.

The "means test" itself is a simplified version of the petition. You are required to fill out your monthly income, your bills, any other incidental expenses, do some simple math, and you come up with a number that shows how much you have left at the end of the month. The total amount you have is what determines which chapter you are able to file in. If you have less than the threshold amount, you are allowed to file under Chapter 7. If you have more, you have to file in Chapter 13 and 7 is technically not an option.

However, an experienced bankruptcy attorney can tell you for sure if you are able to file in Chapter 7 even though you technically do not qualify. Your attorney's experience with filing hundreds, if not thousands, of bankruptcies informs her of what you can and can not get away with when it comes to submitting the petition under each chapter.

After the test comes the petition. This is the point where you put out every last piece of your financial information onto paper. Again, your attorney assists you with how to fill it out as the petition is a complicated legal document with language that can be difficult for the lay person to understand. Follow her guidance and listen to what she tells you to do in order to avoid a big mistake that gets caught later.

Once the petition is finished, it's submitted to the federal court, beginning the journey to your eventual discharge and clearing of debts. Along the way, you meet with the trustee handling your case, answer his questions, and then wait. If you are in Chapter 7, you wait for the trustee to investigate you for any hidden assets. This is not necessary in a Chapter 13, but you do start making payments at the agreed-upon date. From there, it's a matter of time until your bankruptcy closes out and you are debt free.